Legends of Terra: War of the Seasons
by ObsidianFlutes
Summary: Welcome to the third installment of the thrilling Legends of Terra series! After the defeat of the Wall of Flesh, a strange corrupted snow spreads over the land, and it's up to Bryn, James, and Amber to stop the War of the Seasons...
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 1

_When the world of Terraria was created, it was rough. Unregulated. Wild. The great gods and goddesses of Terraria - the Devs - added many things to make the world a better place._

_Then three deities rose from the dust of Terraria. The first, Ocram, moved to a faraway land known as Khonsol Edishonn. The second was named Herobrine, and this ivory-eyed man moved to a land even farther away, and was accepted into a society of gods that called themselves Mojang. The third deity was Cthulhu, and he stayed in the land of Terraria._

_Four of Cthulhu's descendants went on to begin controlling the seasons, and under the wise rule of these four the land of Terraria finally became a hospitable place._

_The first season-keeper was Plantera, the Perennial One, goddess of the Lihzahrd. This jungle queen kept the spring, letting flowers bloom, grass grow and the sun beam warm upon the land. It was she, in fact, who taught the natives of Terraria how to harden clay into bricks, and from this technology she and her Lihzahrd followers built her golem, which she kept in a secure temple to use only in battle. She also taught them how to speak the pygmy language and how to play the electric guitar._

_The second season-keeper was Honey, the Queen Bee. The ruler of both vile poison and sweet nectar, the Queen Bee kept the summer. She let fruits grow on the trees, and her loyal subjects made great quantities of the delicious healing honey for the natives to eat. It was this keeper who taught the natives the technology of using various poisons to stun and kill the abominations of the Crimson._

_The third season-keeper was Lord Gourd. The pumpkin sovereign, though a universal effigy of terror, was kind to the natives despite his fearsome reputation. It was he, in fact, who taught them the secrets of fire and the knowledge of agriculture. It was he who made the leaves of the trees burst into color in autumn and it was he who taught the natives how to preserve their food for the winter._

_The fourth and final season-keeper was Bianca the White. It was she who made snow fall through the stark branches of the trees. She taught the natives techniques to survive in the snow, how to tame wolves, and how to keep warm in a blizzard. However, unlike the other three season-keepers, this snow queen was haughty and cold. She was the cruelest and coldest-hearted of the four, and it was because of her that a war started between them, and the only people who would be able to stop it were a pair of young archers and a healer._

_This is their story._


	2. Chapter 2: Lightning Boots

Chapter 2 - Lightning Boots

**I'm trying something new this installment: NAMED CHAPTERS! Also, for future reference, the "Great Piranha Massacre" is based off of real events. As a result, Khallithe (my newest Terraria character) is the proud owner of not one, but two robot hats.**

A huge cloud of dust trailed behind Bryn as she raced across the courtyard. The wind blew in her face, sweeping her chocolate brown hair behind her. Mom would be so proud of her when she saw what she had made.

A shout broke her reverie. "BRYN!" Bryn, with an effort, skidded to a stop and landed on her bottom. She looked up into the face of her friend James.

"Oh, hi, James. I'm just testing out my newest creation!" she said, smiling at him and getting to her feet.

"And that would be...?" asked James, steeling himself for the unexpected.

"I call them Lightning Boots," said Bryn, showing off the shoes she was wearing. They were an aggressive electric yellow, with white soles and small lightning bolts adorning the sides. "They let me run SUPER fast and they even allow flight! Check this out!" She jumped into the air and the boots activated instantaneously, sending her flying up in the air. After a second, though, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Bryn grinned sheepishly up at James. "The fuel's a little unstable."

"You don't say," he replied icily. "You've got to stop doing this, Bryn. One of these days you'll hurt yourself. Remember the Great Piranha Massacre? You almost lost your foot."

"But I didn't," she smirked. "And for the record, those piranhas had it _coming_."

James shook his head. "You're just like your mother."

"Whatever, man," said Bryn, getting up and dusting herself off. "I'm going to go show these off to a more appreciative audience."

"Be my guest. Maybe you can get some protective gear while you're at it," James shouted back at her.

Bryn sped into her quarters. "Hi, Mom," she said, removing her shoes. "Look at what I made today."

"That's wonderful, Bryn," said her mother, brushing back her chocolate-colored pigtails. "What do they do?"

"Think of ice skates on steroids and that'll give you an idea of how fast I can run with these on," Bryn said proudly.

"Wow," said Bryn's mother. "You can outrun anything with those! I wish I had those a few years ago. May I see them?"

"Sure," said Bryn, putting the electric yellow shoes in her mother's hands.

Monavelle Skyvale raised the shoes to eye level and peered at them. "These are truly amazing, Bryn."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - In Which We Encounter A Random Cutscene

_Meanwhile, in the snowy mountains..._

The queen sat on her throne, staring at the doorway. Sure enough, one of her emissaries walked in, a living evergreen tree. It bowed, spraying pine needles all around the throne room, and saluted with one of its branchlike arms.

"I am honored to enter Her Majesty's chamber," it said in a high, thin voice.

"At ease, Razorleaf," the queen replied. "What news have you from the laboratory?"

"Santanus has finished the project," Razorleaf said, righting itself. "The specimens are ready."

"Excellent," hissed the queen. "And the conditions?"

"Just right for release," said Razorleaf. "Shall I go tell Santanus to release the specimens, Your Majesty?"

"That's exactly what needs to happen," said the queen.

"Consider it done, my liege," said Razorleaf, and it turned around and waddled out of the throne room.

The queen smiled wickedly. "Snow just got real."

_ONE WEEK PASSED._

A scream sounded behind Bryn, tearing across the tranquil air. Bryn whipped around and raced across the courtyard, stopping at the source of the scream. It was one of her fellow recruits. She was staring at a gash on her lower leg, which appeared to have a nasty infection. Purple veins were crawling out from the wound, up into her thigh.

"Celia!" said Bryn. "What happened?"

Celia looked at Bryn, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't know," she sniffled. "Get Monavelle. Quickly. It hurts."

Bryn did not need to be told twice. She whirled back around and bolted for her quarters. "MomMomweneedtogetoutthereCelia'sbeenhurtanditlooks_really_bad," she shrieked to Monavelle, without taking a breath.

"Okay, Bryn, let's go," said Monavelle, grabbing the sheet from her cot and racing after Bryn, back to the courtyard. Celia had collapsed, sweat beading on her pale forehead and rolling in great droplets down the length of her long raven hair. Monavelle spread out the sheet, rolled Celia onto it, and turned to Bryn. "We need backup. And a healer."

"The nearest one is at the Magicians' Guild," Bryn said.

"Are you sure you can make it that far alone?" Monavelle asked.

"Mom, please. I don't call them lightning boots for nothing," Bryn smirked. Then she took off through the brush.

Branches scraped at Bryn as she ran, shaving the skin from her elbows and knees as she flew through the forest. Roots reached up and grabbed her feet, giving her faceful after faceful of dirt and mulch. Nettles ripped at her clothes and snagged her hair. When she arrived at the Magicians' Guild, Bryn was a sight to see. Her face and clothes were filthy, her shirt torn almost to shreds, her arms and legs bloodied and her ponytail full of leaves.

Bryn walked into the headmaster's office, squared her shoulders, and announced, "I demand to see a healer."

"I'll send for one," said the headmaster, and he entered the guild and walked down a specific corridor. He returned moments later with a slender young woman with orange hair, orange eyes, and robes the color of the setting sun.

She raised her hand in a shy greeting. "Hi. I'm Amber Blue."

"Nice to meet you, Amber," Bryn said. "I'm Bryn Briarcliff. I'm in need of a healer. There's somebody at the Archers' Guild who's really badly hurt."

Amber gasped. "The Archers' Guild? But that's miles away!"

"Anything is possible with lightning boots. Hop on my back," said Bryn matter-of-factly, kneeling and bending forward.

Amber glanced at the headmaster, who shrugged. Then she tentatively settled herself on Bryn's back. Bryn straightened up, looped her arms under Amber's legs, and took off through the brush.


	4. Chapter 4: Celia Tells All

Chapter 4: Celia Tells All

"So what happened to your fellow recruit?" asked Amber as they crashed through the forest.

"I don't know, really," Bryn answered. "She just screamed. It looked like she had a leg wound, and it looked like it was infected really bad. There were these purple veins running up her leg."

"Sounds like a corruption infection," said Amber. "I guess I'll see when we get there."

"Then you'll see now," said Bryn, straightening up. Amber toppled off her back with a squeak.

She got up, dusting herself off. "What was that for?!"

"We're here," said Bryn, gesturing to the Archers' Guild. Monavelle waved to Bryn from across the courtyard. A few other recruits were holding the corners of the sheet, and on the sheet lay Celia.

Monavelle signaled the other recruits, Nella, Piper, and Correl, and said, "Let's get her inside." Each recruit pulled the corners of the sheet taut, and carried Celia into the guild. With an experienced hand, Amber rolled the unconscious Celia off the sheet and onto a nearby bed in the medical ward. Then she examined her leg wound with a critical eye. The wound was nauseating to look upon; the purple substance had crawled up and down Celia's leg and webbed her calf and thigh with sickly indigo.

Amber turned to Bryn. "How long has this been around?"

"About half an hour," said Bryn, checking her watch.

Amber peered over the wound. "It has to be corruption," she said softly. "When corruption gets past a break in the skin, it's usually terminal. Celia's incredibly lucky you got me here in time. Such wounds are treatable if they're at most an hour old."

"What do you need to treat it?" asked Nella anxiously as she twisted her blouse around her finger.

"Treatment is simple," said Amber. "I just need a couple of handfuls of sand from the hallows, and some crushed fireblossoms."

"You're in luck; we just harvested a whole bunch, and we have lots of sand you can use," said Monavelle, sighing with relief.

The ingredients were quickly gathered. Then Amber mixed the hallowed sand with water and poured the resulting blue liquid over Celia's wound. It spread over her leg and congealed, creating a kind of gel sheath, and started miraculously sucking up the purple stuff. Once it had absorbed every mote of corruption, Amber used one of Correl's arrowheads to scrape it off and threw the purple mass away. She smeared foul-smelling ointment on the wound, stitched it shut, and wrapped it in linen bandages. Finally she took the mass of crushed fireblossoms and forced it into Celia's mouth.

Every recruit held their breath as Celia's jaw muscles moved, agonizingly, then slightly faster until she was chewing on the herbs. Then, Celia's eyes shot open, she sat up bolt upright in bed, and spat out the fireblossoms, leaving Amber's face covered with half-chewed red vegetable matter.

Celia coughed. "Those were _terrible!_ What was that for?"

"Fireblossoms," said Amber. "They were to get your motor kickstarted. Wonderful for the sinuses, am I right?"

_"Pthhhh! Yuk! Ptak!" _Celia choked, spraying more slobbery fireblossoms in Amber's face.

Amber grimaced under the mass of soggy herbs, then squared her shoulders and wiped her face clean. "Okay, here's the deal. I'd like to know what's up with that leg wound, preferably with a minimum amount of half-eaten fireblossoms."

"Well... I was out gathering some dayblooms for the herb stores, when I tripped over a root and fell on a sharp rock, which made the wound. So I started making my way back to the Archers' Guild and found this purple stuff in my path. I don't even know what it was, but I'm certain that it... it _followed me back._ Then, when I got back, it caught up to me and some of it got into the wound. I don't know what it was, but it was cold, very cold. And it hurt... and then Bryn heard me scream."

"Cthulhu's beard," Amber cursed under her breath. "There's something incredibly wrong going on here... and I don't know the source of it."

"I've got a nasty feeling that there's a quest in this," Bryn replied.

"You may be right," Amber grumbled. "Woo hoo."

**Foreshadowing?! Don't worry, there will be a few nice, long, juicy chapters coming soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Spread of the Snow

Chapter 5: The Spread of the Snow

Amber slumped on the bench. "I just don't understand what could have attacked Celia. And I'm a healer. I'm supposed to _know _these things."

"Wait a second... I'm remembering a myth that my mom told me when I was little. Basically, there are these four deities in control of the seasons, and you know that the winter one will take over the world when corrupted snow spreads over the land." Bryn shrugged her shoulders. "Something like that."

"Are you saying that the purple stuff was corrupted snow?" Amber asked, suddenly more alert.

"That's probably what it was. Celia said it was cold," said Bryn.

"Great," Amber grumbled. "Just what I need. Another mad goddess trying to take over the world. Did you know that my dad struck the killing blow to Cthulhu, back when he tried to destroy the world the second time? I guess having to fight evil deities runs in my family."

James ran out of the guild. "What'd I miss?"

"Amber's resenting the fact that she comes from a line of heroes," Bryn said in a singsong voice.

"I am _not!"_ Amber giggled, smacking Bryn in the arm.

"Wait... what?" James mumbled, dumbstruck. He was staring in awe at Amber and her shimmering, waist-length orange hair.

"Hey! James! Snap out of it," Bryn laughed, snapping her fingers before his face.

James shook his head a few times and blurted, "If you're questing, I want to go with you."

"We're questing? Says who?" Amber said pointedly.

"Um... says me?" James mumbled weakly.

"Bear in mind, Amber, if we don't want the end of the world on our heads, we'll have to do this," Bryn said.

Amber sighed. "Fine. I guess we'll have to go questing."

_Later..._

"That's what we propose," said Bryn, slapping a map down on Monavelle's desk.

"Are you sure?" asked Monavelle with concern. "I mean, corrupted snow is a myth. It's always been a myth. I told you that story when you were four years old."

"Mom, please. Corrupted snow? End of the world? Celia's leg? It sounds a little funky to me. If this leads to the end of the world because you wouldn't let us try and stop it, it's your fault. You've had to save the world once, right? You'd know."

Monavelle sighed. "All right. You can go on a quest to the jungle to try saving the world."

"All righty then," Amber said, rubbing her hands together. "Let's go change the fate of humanity. Whoopee... what fun."


	6. Chapter 6: Frozen Jungle

Chapter 6: Frozen Jungle

A few days later, Bryn, James, and Amber gathered their belongings into knapsacks and set off. Bryn led the group as they hiked, with Amber following close behind and James straggling along at the back of the pack, staring at Amber.

Bryn checked her map. "Take a break, guys. We've got a couple miles." James dropped his knapsack and immediately scampered off.

"Why'd we have to bring him?" asked Amber of Bryn. "He keeps staring at me. It's creepy."

"Companionship," she said. "Plus, if my bow breaks, I can steal his and leave him for dead."

"I heard that," James shouted.

"Break's over. Grab your pack," Bryn shouted at James, picking up her own and setting off. "Hurry up, slowpoke. The world isn't going to save itself."

They continued to hike over the hills, Amber pointing out various herbs and grasses along the way.

"That's a daybloom," she said, pointing to a small yellow flower.

Bryn rolled her eyes. "We KNOW it's a daybloom. Just like we knew that the last seven herbs were dayblooms."

"Well, that one over there's a moonglow," said Amber, pointing to a long-stemmed herb with a drooping tip.

"Wait... moonglows? Don't those grow in the jungle?" said Bryn, staring at the herb.

"Cthulhu's beard," Amber said in wonderment. "We're here."

"Are- are you sure?" said James. "It doesn't even look like the same _place._"

"You know what, James, you're right," said Bryn, scanning the landscape. Indeed, the trees were bent and broken and the grass, rather than its usual ultra-bright green, was brown and dead-looking. The pools of warm water scattered about the surface were frozen over and a few dead piranhas drifted around under the ice. The whole place was usually bristling with monsters and echoed with the screams of jungle bats and birds, but now it was eerily silent. And perhaps the most drastic change of all was the fact that the jungle, while usually hot and humid, was as dry and cold as death. Bryn, James, and Amber shivered.

Amber spoke. "Well... I guess we should at least find someplace to warm ourselves."

They trekked suspiciously into the jungle, their feet crunching through the frozen mud, until they found a dry spot to sit in. James brought in a handful of dead branches to light a fire, and they sat sullenly around the little flame and warmed their hands.

Bianca watched, and she smiled and rubbed her gloved hands together. She hated fire, but she'd let them have their warmth. At least for a few minutes.

"This is just _wrong,"_ Amber said, investigating one of the vine monsters nearby. Usually they'd be stretching their tethers and champing their jaws, trying to eat them, but right now they lay inert. When Amber waved her hand in its eye, the only response she got was a lazy snap of the jaws. The sound of bats screaming had also been silenced; the only bats they could see were hanging in a sleeping, shivering row on a nearby tree branch.

"No," said a silvery voice behind them. "I believe that this is just right."

The three whipped around to view a woman standing behind them. She was incredibly tall - nearly seven feet. Her silvery blue hair was tied up in a large bun on the back of her head with a cornflower-colored ribbon. A pair of dark blue eyes sparkled at them from her heart-shaped face, framed by a delicate tiara of icicles. She wore dark blue gloves edged with pure white fur and a strapless blue dress, edged with the same fur, and with tiny gems sewn into it. A pair of massive, translucent wings sprang from her bare shoulders. She seemed to twinkle when she moved.

"Who are you?" asked Bryn incredulously.

The woman threw back her head and laughed. "I am Bianca, the Lady of the Cold. And for your information, this jungle is exactly how I want it to be. The only things getting in the way of perfection," she snarled, pointing at them with a slender finger, "is you three. So you leave me no choice."

Bianca's wings started to flap, sending blasts of subarctic air at Bryn, James, and Amber as she rose into the air.

"Well, we're boned," James said matter-of-factly.


	7. Chapter 7: Plantera

Chapter 7: Plantera

Bryn lifted her bow and shot a barrage of arrows at Bianca with a roar. Bianca didn't even flinch and retaliated with a blast of icy air, sending all the arrows back at Bryn. She hardly had time to duck as they whistled over her head.

Bianca smiled gently. "I didn't know you played tennis. Here! My serve!" she snarled she swept another wave of freezing wind out from her arm. It blasted against them, blowing back Amber's and Bryn's hair. By the time it passed, they were shivering.

Bianca giggled. "Not so tough now, are we?"

"Tougher than you think," James grunted, shooting his own bow. "DIE!"

"I'd rather not, thank you," Bianca replied, lazily flicking the arrow away on a breeze. "Dying is supposed to hurt!"

"Why are you doing this?" Amber pleaded. "We thought you were cool! Both literally and figuratively!"

"I'm doing this because I want to," the ice queen snarled, turning away. "Deal with it. The world's a cold place."

"I refuse to let you make it so," said Bryn, lighting one of her arrowheads on fire and launching the arrow at Bianca. This time, instead of sending it away, Bianca gasped and ducked as the flaming arrow shrieked over her head.

"Hah! Afraid to play with fire?" James shouted, nocking three flaming arrows on his bow and shooting all three at once. Bianca dropped to the ground and rolled to avoid them. When she got up, she was covered with mud. She looked down at her dirty clothes, then back at James. There was murder in her eyes.

"Did you _have _to do that? This outfit cost me _two hundred platinum coins_! And it costs _so much _to dry-clean!" Bianca spat petulantly, desperately trying to scrape the mud off her satin dress.

"I didn't know that ice elementals even had to _wear _clothes," Bryn muttered. "Let alone dry-clean them."

"I heard that, you little twit," Bianca snarled. "For that, you get the slowest, most agonizing death."

"OH GOODIE," Bryn said sarcastically, dodging as another subarctic gust howled over her head. "I get to watch my friends die and then get killed by a mad psychopathic ice elemental just because there's a little mud on her dress. I'm such a privileged girl."

"Feel lucky," Bianca retorted. "So far, you three are the only individuals I have let survive for more than ninety seconds."

**_"Let's keep it that_**_ **way,"**_ thundered a voice from behind them.

Bianca barely had time to scream as something gigantic leaped with incredible speed out of a patch of dead bushes and started firing a barrage of thorns. She had no choice but to make good her escape, shouting "You haven't seen the last of me!" over her shoulder as she flew away.

Bryn, James, and Amber turned around to investigate the massive object behind them. It seemed to be made of organic materials, with three feet that could put a boa constrictor in a death grip leading back to the main body by way of thick, ropy vines. The body itself resembled a huge flower, with vines and stamen waving from the bottom and an impressive crown of enormous pink petals folding up into a bud shape. This gave the thing the appearance of a jungle rose just about to open in spring. An extremely large jungle rose, but a jungle rose nonetheless.

A sudden movement caught their eyes immediately, Bryn and James readying their bows. The petals rustled, then moved, just enough for a slender hand to appear. Then another joined it. Slowly they spread apart, flattening downwards to reveal the inside of the flower.

There was a woman standing inside it.

She was nearly as tall as Bianca, but she was her polar opposite in looks. Instead of tied up in a bun, her vibrant pink hair drifted loose and fell to her waist. She wore a dress sewn out of leaves that hugged her thighs and stopped just above her knees, and her eyes were emerald green rather than ice blue. The most striking differences were the absence of wings and the complexion; while Bianca's skin was white as milk, the woman in front of them was covered with a healthy golden tan.

She smiled, revealing brilliant white teeth, and stepped out of the flower. "I believe the expression is _thank you for saving our lives."_

"Um," said Amber.

"Who are you guys, anyway?" the woman asked, looking them up and down.

"I think the better question is _who are you," _James said, gesturing to her.

The woman gave a soft laugh. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Plantera, Goddess of the Spring and queen of the jungle. It's a pleasure to meet you."


	8. Chapter 8: Spring, Summer, and Fall

Chapter 8: Spring, Summer, and Fall

"Plantera? So the myths are true!" Amber said incredulously.

"Of course they're true," Plantera said. "You weren't convinced when Bianca appeared?"

"That's true. I guess manic ice elementals count as mythical beasts," pondered Bryn.

"It isn't safe out here. Get in," Plantera said urgently, stepping into her flower-vehicle. Bryn, Amber, and James followed suit, realizing that there was a lot more room in the bud than they thought. Plantera pulled a cord, and the petals folded back up, enclosing them in pink.

"Welcome to the Jungle Rose," said Plantera proudly, stepping over to a control board and staring out the gap where the petals didn't quite meet, at the very top of the flower. She tapped a few buttons and the Jungle Rose swiveled onto one side, the opening now facing straight forward.

Then it started to move. The three huge feet and vine legs started to lurch with surprising alacrity, jumping gracefully over trees and slumbering monsters in its path, until it reached a cavern.

Plantera turned to the three adventurers. "Hang on tight. This is going to be a wild ride." She turned back to the control board and pressed some buttons, then went to the wall and pulled down a huge green lever.

The Jungle Rose stood still for a few seconds, then it launched into the air, grasping the cavern roof with one of its feet. It swung across, latching another foot onto the ceiling, onto the floor, onto sides of the cavern as they went deeper into the cave, Bryn and Amber hanging onto the petal walls for dear life and James bouncing all around the inside of the flower. Plantera laughed and raised her hands into the air as if she was on a rollercoaster as the Jungle Rose pulled itself wildly through the underground jungle as if swinging on a trapeze.

Finally it stopped, and Plantera slapped a large release button on the wall of the flower. The Jungle Rose's petals slowly opened and she walked out unfazed. Bryn and Amber tottered dizzily out, leaning against the blossom to get their bearings.

Bryn suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute. Where's James?"

She was answered almost immediately with a shout of surprise as James fell from the bottom of the Jungle Rose, which had become the ceiling, and slid out on his stomach. He got up, dusted himself off, and exclaimed, "That... was... AWESOME! Can we do that again?"

"I'm gonna puke," Amber mumbled, and she did.

"Is this going to happen a lot?" Bryn snapped at Plantera while Amber lost her breakfast in a nearby bush.

"Well, it _is _my primary source of transportation, so... yes," Plantera admitted sheepishly.

"At least the ride's over, right?" Amber gasped, taking a break from ejecting her stomach contents.

"Yes," Plantera said. "This is the only patch of jungle Bianca doesn't control."

Bryn suddenly realized that instead of dry and cold, the air was once again warm and humid. Even though it was underground, it was exactly like the jungle was supposed to be. Hornets buzzed about, pollinating the drooping moonglows as leaves drifted about. In the middle of the cavern was an enormous building that seemed to be built entirely out of honeycomb and vines, with flowers blooming on the columns that held it up. Plantera helped Amber up and gestured to the building.

"Welcome," she said, "to Fort Spring."

"It's... _beautiful," _Amber breathed.

"It should be, we all built it!" came a voice from in front of them. Two other people had emerged from the building.

One was a man, even taller than Plantera, with orange hair and luminous golden eyes. He wore black armor and a flowing black cloak. Plantera ran up to him and embraced him. "Guys, this is Lord Gourd, pumpkin sovereign and King of Autumn."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lord Gourd said. His voice was low, soft, and smoky. "What are your names?"

"I'm Bryn, and these are my friends James and Amber," said Bryn. Then she noticed the other person, standing behind Lord Gourd. "Who're you?"

The other person jumped out from behind him, saying, "Hello!" and drawing a collective gasp. She was a pretty woman from the waist up, with short golden hair, violet eyes, and a huge smile plastered on her face. But instead of forking into two legs and standing upright, her hips gave way to a fuzzy abdomen with six legs sprouting from it and a wicked-looking stinger on the back. She was a bee from the waist down. Two antennae sprang from her head, and two pairs of small wings lay flat against her shoulders.

"Oh, my God, it's a bee," Amber said, before she could help it.

The bee-woman's wings snapped into action, lifting her into the air. She crossed her arms and stuck out her abdomen so that the huge stinger was level with Amber's stomach.

"You got a problem?" she said menacingly.

"N-no," Amber quavered, shaking all over.

The bee woman dropped to the ground. "Glad to hear it. The name's Honey. Honey Mellifera Chrystallis, Goddess of the Summer and Queen Bee."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Chr-Chis-Chrysss..." James faltered.

"You can just call me Honey, honey," said Honey. "Pleased to see you three here. Let's go inside, shall we?"


	9. Chapter 9: Dinner by Moonglowlight

Chapter 9: Dinner by Moonglowlight

"I'm starving," James said.

"Dinner - a glorious idea," said Honey, leading them into an enormous dining room and waddling off to retrieve some food.

"Wow - you folks really eat in style," said Bryn, admiring the vines and moonglow flowers lighting up the dining hall as Honey laid plates of food on the table.

"I'm sorry we don't have too much regular food here," Lord Gourd said as Amber, Bryn and James sat at the ornate honey table. "What we have is tailored to our... erm... _unusual _diets. Everything else is grown right here in the jungle."

"I can tell," Amber muttered, glancing at the food. They each had a plate stacked with honeycomb and fresh fruits, but Lord Gourd looked down at a plateful of light, presumably sunlight, with a side of mulch. Plantera had the same thing, and they each had a glass of water. Honey contemplated a wide, shallow soup plate filled with royal jelly.

Plantera held up her glass of water and proclaimed, "Let's eat."

As they ate, Amber asked, "So, did you and Bianca get along?"

Plantera giggled. Lord Gourd snickered. Honey started laughing so hard she snorted royal jelly out her nose.

When she recovered, she giggled, "Get along? Oh, _please._ She was on our side, but that's about it. Us four have been fighting since I was a larva."

James tried to imagine Honey as a larva, but he failed miserably.

"So that skirmish we had earlier... was that a usual occurrence with Bianca?" Bryn asked, gnawing on a honeycomb.

"No," Plantera said. "She's not herself. There's something wrong with her - she looks wrong, her powers are growing. She'll be able to freeze objects miles away. It's said that when the end of the world comes, the moon will freeze. So we'll know, anyway," she said quickly, stabbing a fork into her mulch.

"Is there any way to prevent it?" asked Bryn.

"Yesnomaybe," said Lord Gourd, Plantera and Honey all at once.

"One at a time, please," laughed Amber.

"Basically, Bianca is defeated before the frozen moon sets, then the moon will melt and the apocalypse will be averted," said Lord Gourd.

Plantera picked right up where he left off. "But if the frozen moon sets before it's melted, then Bianca will freeze the world. Even hell."

"So... you're saying that we'll be able to rid her of whatever's wrong before hell freezes over?" said James.

Honey set down her spoonful of royal jelly and glared at James. "If you say that again I swear I will sting you. And trust me, you don't want me to sting you."

James nervously scooted away from Honey, who shrugged and continued daintily consuming her royal jelly.

Plantera stuffed the last spoonful of light into her mouth, excused herself, and walked around the table to the back door. When she reached Lord Gourd, she leaned down and pecked him on the cheek.

Bryn's eyebrows shot up. "Ooooh," she whispered to Amber. "Check out the plants in love."

"No doubt about it," she hissed back. "I wonder if they'd have to get one of Honey's minions to pollinate them."

"I don't know if that'll work," Bryn scoffed. "He's a pumpkin and she's a rose. They're entirely different species."

"That doesn't appear to be stopping them," Amber said softly as Lord Gourd arose and swept out to Plantera. "Ah, two centuries-old plant gods in love. Nothing like it in the world."

_Meanwhile..._

"Hey," Lord Gourd said, sitting next to Plantera and sliding his arm around her shoulders. Plantera blushed and reached up to take his hand.

"Hi," she said shyly, blushing so her face matched her hair.

"Are you nervous?" he whispered in her ear.

"For the end of the world? Yes. That you and I might get married? I'm more nervous about that than the end of the world."

He smiled at her and stroked her hair. "_Carpe diem, _my love."

"I love it when you talk Latin to me," she said, smiling. They slipped off the wall they were sitting on and walked to a flat patch of dirt covered in soft green grass, where the moonglow flowers dimly lit the area with a blue glow. Lord Gourd placed one hand on Plantera's slender waist as she slid hers onto his shoulder. Their free hands found each other, and in that warm night underground, Lord Gourd and Plantera danced the dance of those in love.


	10. Chapter 10: Energy Bow

Chapter 10: Energy Bow

**Sorry about the delay, but recently the road to the destination that is the final battle has been obstructed by a massive WRITER'S BLOCK, so I've pushed out Chapter 10 much too late, but better late than never so enjoy!**

Bryn leveled a steely-eyed gaze at the paper target in front of her, lips curling into a snarl. She lifted her slender pearlwood longbow, drew back the string, and let fly. The arrow punched a hole in the target, right where the heart would be.

A voice spoke behind Bryn. "If you're training to fight Bianca, I'd recommend shooting for the head or jaw. Knock her out so we can find out what's wrong with her." She whirled around to see Plantera standing there, with a bow and quiver of her own.

"Also, you might want to stun, not kill," she said, pointing out the arrows in Bryn's quiver. They were ordinary, made of wood and flint, but became especially deadly when Bryn clipped one of her attachments to her bow. Bryn, being inventive, had created hundreds of different ringlike attachments that clipped to a bow. When arrows passed through them, they became imbued with a different power. The fire attachment lit arrows on fire, the poison attachment tipped them with neurotoxins, the ichor attachment coated them in sticky golden goop, et cetera.

Bryn shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have any stun arrows. I guess my aim would be okay, but it'd have unfortunate side effects for Bianca."

"Like what?" said Plantera, cocking her head and reaching into her quiver for an arrow.

"Like embedding a flaming arrow in her skull," Bryn said darkly, launching a volley of arrows at various points on the paper target with deadly precision.

"Maybe you can use my bow," Plantera said helpfully. She lifted up her bow, a beautifully shaped weapon made of pure shroomite. When her hand emerged from the quiver, it was empty. Bryn watched in wonder as Plantera drew back the bowstring - for instead of drawing back an arrow, a ball of energy gathered in Plantera's hand. The longer she held the bowstring, the bigger the ball grew until Bryn could feel it setting her hair on end. Then Plantera released the bowstring and the energy flew from the bow, sending a shockwave rippling all across the archery range and making the paper target flutter madly in the sudden influx of force.

Plantera lowered her bow and sighed happily. "They don't make bows like this baby anymore. 100% shroomite, and it fires pure energy. How awesome is _that?"_

"So completely awesome, I... I don't... I don't even," Bryn breathed, her eyes glued to the weapon. "I have lost my ability to even."

"You can give it a try if you want," said Plantera, lowering her bow into Bryn's trembling hands. It was made entirely of dark blue shroomite, with large fins flowing from it and making it look like it was sprouting leaves. It seemed to hum to Bryn's touch. She instinctively reached into her quiver, but Plantera shook her head. "You don't need arrows."

Bryn drew her hand out of the quiver and slid it down the length of the silver bowstring. Then she raised the weapon and began pulling back on the string, squinting one eye at the target. As she held back the oddly silklike string, a ball of energy started to gather in her hand. Then she released the string and a shockwave shot across the archery range, making all the targets in the row flap.

Plantera gestured to the bow. "Ya know, with the Jungle Rose and Ergo Sum, I have plenty of weaponry. You can keep that Pulse Bow if you want. It's served me well over the years, and now it's yours."

Bryn looked up at Plantera, eyes shining, the Pulse Bow flat on her outstretched palms. "Plantera, I- I don't know what to say. This is the best gift anyone's ever given me, _ever. _But... what's that thing you mentioned, Ergo Sum?"

"It doesn't concern you," Plantera said quickly, turning away. "Don't worry about it - you'll find out what it is in due time. Enjoy your bow."

"Thanks, Plantera," Bryn said gratefully, hugging the bow to her chest.


	11. Chapter 11: Honey Scrying

Chapter 11: Honey Scrying

Bianca sat on her throne, eyes squeezed shut, trembling in pain and fear. She was gripping the arms of the ice throne so hard that blood ran from her knuckles, turning them dead-white.

"I've got to stop this," she gasped. "Come on, Bianca. Fight it. _Fight _it." Beads of sweat began rolling down her silver bangs and tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes as she battled the corruption inside her.

_You can't fight it,_ the corruption whispered in her mind.

"Yes... I... _can!" _ she growled, straining to separate her conscience from the corruption. Her bare feet heated up and started to skid around on half-melted ice. Bianca stood up and walked unsteadily to the side of the throne chamber, where she started to repeatedly slam herself into the wall to dislodge the parasite that had made her mind its home. Bianca's face turned a deep scarlet with effort and blood blush, her voice rising to a scream as she fought.

Then Bianca slipped on some wet ice and landed on her bottom. The corruption seized this opportunity to regain control of her mind, and the blue tint raced back into her silver hair. Her normally pale blue eyes took on an expression of panic before the corruption slowly darkened them to indigo. Standing, she dusted herself off, set her jaw and swept out of the room.

Bianca's last moment of lucidity was gone.

_Meanwhile..._

Honey bent over the pool of honey, stirring it gently with her finger. Once the amber liquid started sparkling and bubbling, she removed her finger and stuck it in her mouth.

"Mmm," she said. "Vintage wildflower!"

"I can't believe we're doing this," Plantera grumbled to herself.

"Hey, I swear honeyscrying works. My great-great-great-grand Queen Bee, Apis Mellifera Chrystallis, did this all the time. And did she fail?" Honey said pointedly.

"She got killed 500 years ago by vilethorn to the belly. What does that tell you?" Plantera snapped.

"It tells me that you're not focusing on the important stuff," Honey muttered. The two stared into the honey and watched as a blurry image started to form on the sticky gold surface.

"Hey, it's working!" Plantera said excitedly.

"Oh ye of little faith," muttered Honey under her breath, watching intently as the image in the honey started focusing rapidly. Soon a clear image of Bianca showed in the fluid.

"Oh, dearie me," said Plantera, studying the image. As she watched, Bianca laid an assortment of weapons out on the table before her, giving directions to a pine tree-like emissary on the other side. They saw her gesticulate towards staves, cannons, pine needle shooters, and many other high-tech weapons until Bianca turned towards them, smiled evilly, and thrust out her hand.

That was all they saw. The honey turned purple, froze over, and shattered into pieces.

"No," Plantera gasped. "_No._"

"No is right," Honey said indignantly. "I just wasted all that nice wildflower honey for nothing!"

"Corruption," Plantera said. "The worst possible thing that could happen... just happened to Bianca."

"That too," Honey muttered absentmindedly, twirling a lock of her short blond hair around her finger.

Plantera stood, brushed off her leaf dress, and stormed out of the beehive. "I've got to warn the others."

"Aw..." said Honey, engaging her wings and buzzing after her.


	12. Chapter 12: The Forbidden Temple

Chapter 12: The Forbidden Temple

Lord Gourd was training Bryn, James, and Amber in swordplay when Plantera rushed in, breathless.

"Thrust! Lunge! Side cut! Parry - oh, hi, Plantera! When'd you get here?" he said, lowering his sword.

"I just got back from Honey's scrying hive. And we saw Bianca. She's been corrupted," Plantera gasped, her sentences fragmented as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Corrupted? How do you know?" Lord Gourd asked quizzically, tilting his head and lifting one of his shocking orange eyebrows.

Plantera's emerald green eyes filled with tears. "Because I only saw it once before."

Lord Gourd dipped his head. "Cthulhu," he said, very softly.

Plantera nodded slightly. "Father."

Bryn, James, and Amber's jaws nearly hit the floor. James spluttered, "Your _father?_"

Amber whispered, "I thought my dad incinerated Cthulhu with a volleyball made of fire."

"He did," Honey said remorsefully, waddling behind Plantera. "But he was corrupted and mad and beyond all hope of redemption. We were glad he burned after all that."

"I miss him, though," Plantera said. "He was a nice old coot before he got corrupted."

"That's why we're not going to let the corruption take over Bianca. She _is _our sister," Lord Gourd said, sheathing his weapon.

"But in the meantime, she has entire armies lined up that are bent on our annihilation. So we've got to make ready for war," Honey said thoughtfully.

"I've got a weaponized electric guitar," Plantera suggested helpfully.

"I'm not sure that'll work," Bryn pointed out, picking up her bow. "Now some ranged weapons, maybe they'd work?"

"And a hive full of killer bees," Honey said enthusiastically. "With poisonous stingers."

"I have an idea," Plantera smiled. "Hop on." She stepped onto a teleporter pad at the end of the room and the others followed suit.

The other end of the teleporter deposited them in front of a temple built entirely out of moss-covered bricks, vaguely reptilian statues guarding the entrance.

Amber gasped. "The Forbidden Temple of Lihzahrd."

"I read that no one, human, lihzahrd or god, could enter until times of duress," Bryn whispered. Then she almost shrieked under her breath.

One of the statues, a bipedal iguana-like creature armed with a spear and dripping with vines, was beginning to move.

There were some creaking noises and a sound of breaking stone. The lizard guard shook itself with muscles stiff from disuse, shaking chunks of rock from its body to reveal its iridescent green scales. Fully uncovered, the guard held up its unarmed hand and hissed, "Halt. What business have you entering the Forbidden Temple?"

"We... ah... well, I'm not sure," Bryn fumbled. The guard hadn't noticed Plantera until she stepped into view.

"The time of duress has come," Plantera said, holding up a key engraved with a sun symbol.

The Lihzahrd guard bowed respectfully at her. "You may pass, O Perennial One." Then, with a sizzling noise, he turned back into stone.

Plantera thrust the key into the keyhole that materialized next to the guard. Then, with a flourish, she thrust open the massive doors, revealing the great yawning cavern inside.

"Welcome," she said, "to the Forbidden Temple of the Lihzahrd."


	13. Chapter 13: Ergo Sum

Chapter 13: Ergo Sum

"Okay, be very careful. Only step where I walked. There are traps everywhere," Plantera said, addressing the entire group. They proceeded into the temple, its eerie, almost sacred silence penetrated only by Plantera pointing out traps every one to three seconds.

"Is there any part of this freaking temple that _isn't _a trap?" James implored, after Plantera had indicated the fifty-third trap in sixty seconds.

"James, this place is more trap than brick," Plantera snapped. "You might want to watch your head."

James ducked a second too late and the tongue of flame that flew down from the ceiling singed the tips of his hair.

Plantera ignored him and continued pointing out traps. Finally, they reached the end of the temple. A brownish-black altar stood before them, with a floating orb of fire bobbing inches above it. Plantera opened a door at the base of the altar and removed a small yellow power cell. Then, with a shout, she slammed it down into the orb of fire. The two massive doors at the end of the chamber began to open. Bryn, James, and Amber drew in a collective gasp as two yellow eyes flicked open and glowed at them. Finally, with a loud creak, a massive golem lumbered out of the doors.

"_COGITO__, ERGO SUM," _he intoned in an enormous voice that sounded like an avalanche. "I THINK, THEREFORE I AM."

"Guys, this is Ergo Sum, the golem. I'm sure he'll be willing to fight for us in the end," Plantera said.

"Wow," said Bryn, looking up at the massive figure. He was built of hardened clay and mud, yet laced and armored with steel. The golem had short legs and large, flat feet. He wore a loincloth made of thin layers of metal, embossed with the signature sun symbol of the Lihzahrd. As Bryn's gaze traveled up Ergo Sum's body, she noticed that his chest and shoulders were broad and heavy, his huge fists hanging to his knees. His head, sitting atop the impossibly wide shoulders, was elaborately sculpted into rays. The two thoughtful, intelligent yellow eyes glowing from his rough, timeworn face gave the golem the appearance of a sun god. And the sheer size of the golem was enough on its own; he was easily ten or fifteen times taller than Plantera.

"I UNDERSTAND THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS SOON UPON US," said Ergo Sum in his rockslide voice.

"We're lucky to have this guy, kids," said Plantera, affectionately slapping the golem on the thigh. "This is the smartest man made of mud that I've had the pleasure of meeting. If I could choose one weapon to use, I'd pick Sum here."

"YOU FLATTER ME," rumbled the golem, sounding pleased. "MY INTELLIGENCE IS DUE TO MY MISTRESS. WHEN SHE CREATED ME OUT OF MUD SHE IMBUED ME NOT ONLY WITH THE POWER OF THE SUN, BUT WITH GREAT KNOWLEDGE."

"I love ya too, big guy!" Plantera said, obviously delighted. Lord Gourd rolled his eyes in mock disdain.

Honey tugged at Plantera's arm. "Um... I think that if we are to have a chance against Bianca, we should take 'big guy' here back to Fort Spring. I talked to a Lihzahrd oracle in front of this place, and he says the frozen moon will rise in two nights."

"Let's get going then," Plantera said, and she hopped on the teleporter pad and zipped back to Fort Spring with her friends and the golem.


	14. Chapter 14: Battle Preparations

Chapter 14: Battle Preparations

"So," Plantera addressed the group, rubbing her hands together. "We've got preparations to do. Things to find and assemble."

"I AM HAPPY TO HELP PREPARE FOR BATTLE," Ergo Sum rumbled. "I WAS BUILT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, TO SERVE."

"That's great, Sum," Plantera said. "But right now we need to brainstorm, so get that chunk of mud we call your brain working and let's devise a battle strategy."

"Bianca has wings, so naturally there should be an element of aerial defense," Bryn mused.

"Leave it to me," Honey chirped, jerking her thumb at herself. "Need you forget that I'm the queen bee? I have more bugs in my hives than there are trees in this jungle. You wouldn't be able to see the forest for the bees. See what I did there?"

"O.K.," Plantera said. "Bees in the air. Honey's also an expert on healing, so we'll need her down on the ground with Amber. That means we need a lookout to direct the bees."

"Got it," Lord Gourd said, grinning. "I can get the Great Pumpkin up and running. A hot-air jack-o-lantern balloon," he clarified for Amber, who was looking at him quizzically.

"All right. We've got the pumpkin in a spy balloon. What else?"

"The Great Pumpkin also has a pair of scythe arms," Lord Gourd said pointedly. "I think you're forgetting that."

"Whatever," Plantera said, flipping her hair. "As for defenses on the ground, there's the Jungle Rose and Ergo Sum here battling off the minions and possibly going for Bianca. But that's not enough on its own."

"ARMIES OF STONE LIHZAHRD WAIT IN THE CATACOMBS UNDER MY TEMPLE," rumbled Ergo Sum. "IT WOULD TAKE LITTLE EFFORT TO AWAKEN THEM."

"What kind of warriors we talking about?" Plantera asked.

"ALMOST HALF ARE SPEARMEN AND SWORDSMEN," the golem intoned. "THE REST WIELD BOWS."

"Perfect," Plantera smiled. "We've got some rangers. But someone has to lead them."

Honey's violet eyes darted to Bryn, and she smiled.

"I think we have someone right here," she said. Plantera's green and Lord Gourd's luminous gold eyes came to rest on Bryn, followed by Ergo Sum's aggressive yellow, James' blue and Amber's orange.

"Bryn Briarcliff," Plantera said, "will you lead the Lihzahrds into battle for the fate of Terraria?"

Bryn hesitated for a moment. Then she looked around at her companions; the three gods, the golem, and the two humans.

Amber smiled at her, and James said, "You're the best person for the job."

Bryn took a deep breath.

"Yes," she said in a strong, confident voice.


	15. Chapter 15: Waking the Lihzahrd

Chapter 15: Waking the Lihzahrd

Bryn and Plantera slowly descended into the Lihzahrd catacombs, with Ergo Sum taking the lead.

_"__**We are nearing the stone **_**_battalions,"_**Ergo Sum said, in the quietest rumble that he could.

Plantera scrambled atop the golem's dusty shoulder and peered out over the catacombs. Then she let out a small noise. "I see them."

They quietly descended into the depths, Bryn sneezing every once in awhile at the dust that arose from their footsteps. Then she gasped in wonder.

Stretching endlessly into the dark before her were untold hundreds of stone lizard people. Some held razor-tipped spears, others cold, black stone swords, and those wore heavier armor than the rest. But a vast majority, lightly armored in leather, wielded longbows and carried quivers on their backs.

Plantera indicated a small altar before the catacombs. "Open it up, Bryn," she said, gesturing.

Bryn flung open a chest at the base of the altar and removed a large, heavy book bound in green leather. The cover read, _Rituals of the Lihzahrd._

Bryn flipped it open and carefully turned to a page labeled, _Waking the Stone Army._

Then, with the golem and the goddess watching her, she took a deep breath, and in a shaky voice she began to read.

_"Ones of Stone, hear my voice  
And listen to my call.  
Bestir yourself in this Time of Duress  
And muster a force of all._

_The goddess has cast the spell of cold,  
The remaining three must fight  
Before the frozen moon sets as foretold  
On an eternal winter's night._

_So wake, stone Lihzahrd soldiers,  
For we are in your need.  
Help us in this Time of cold  
To reverse the ice queen's deed._

_Finally, we apologize  
For your sleep we must disrupt.  
Ready your weapons, O faithful ones.  
Stone Lihzahrd ones, WAKE UP!"_

As Bryn roared the final line of the ancient chant, she heard a crumbling noise, followed by an explosion of breaking stone. The statues nearest her began to fracture and crack, the Lihzahrds inside beginning to snap the stone shells that they had slept in for so long. Long reptilian tails and legs began to shake, chunks of stone dropping to the ground to reveal iridescent green scales. Bryn stood and watched in awe as they shook the final pieces of rock from their bodies, and an army of Lihzahrd stood before her in all their glory.

The one nearest to Bryn, a female Lihzahrd with bright yellow eyes and the face of a crocodile, stepped closer and hissed, "The leader?"

"Yes," Plantera said. "This is Bryn. She's going to lead the Lihzahrds into battle."

The crocodile woman examined Bryn's face. "It has been a long time since the Lihzahrd were led by a human."

"I know she can do it," Plantera said, stroking Bryn's hair. "Do you still have the armor?"

"It is at the bottom of the altar," the woman hissed, unfolding the altar's false bottom and exposing its contents. Bryn raised her hands to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears as she gazed down at the orange palladium armor, still shining and unmarked. Trembling, she stepped into the greaves, pulled on the chain mail, and set the helmet on her head, the plume standing proudly over her head.

The crocodile woman bowed, followed by the endless waves of Lihzahrd. Bryn saw the legions bowing to her, and smiled through her tears.

She was ready to lead.


	16. Chapter 16: Frozen Moon

Chapter 16: The Frozen Moon

**Sorry about the lack of uploads, but I've been on vacation! Enjoy - we're getting close!**

Bianca hovered in the clearing, her huge translucent wings beating softly against the freezing air. Her dark indigo eyes narrowed as she focused on the horizon, watching the sun gradually slink away and darken the sky. When the last golden sliver had disappeared, she turned around and looked up. The moon hung in the sky, massive and round like an enormous silver coin, and Bianca smirked. Rubbing her hands together, she flew higher and raised her arms to the sky, sending frigid blasts of energy roaring out of her fingers and blasting full force into the moon, freezing it solid. Bianca, satisfied with her work, planted her hands on her hips, threw back her head and laughed.

Throughout the forest around her, millions of trees suddenly snapped open their eyes and came alive.

_Meanwhile..._

Honey bustled around her main hive, shouting orders at the squadrons of worker bees.

"First Patrol, let's get that comb squeezed and bottled! I don't want to see a DROP of that honey go to waste! Second Patrol, I want you to open ALL mature pupae! I want the Third and Fourth Patrols to do a stinger check, and Fifth Patrol, you're scouts! Let's GO, GO, GO!" Honeybees flew everywhere, carrying honeycombs and buzzing across the hive. Honey herself retired to a private chamber where a large beeswax vat stood, bubbling with green venom. Honey buzzed up into the air and lowered herself into a special harness. Her huge stinger poked through a hole in the mesh harness, soaking in the poison. Honey's sharp, poisonous stinger was her final line of defense in battle, and she hoped never to have to use it.

Lord Gourd dashed in, his shoes covered in a sticky combination of honey and beeswax, and gasped, "It's happening."

"A frozen moon?" Honey asked, fear playing the edges of her voice.

He nodded. "All ice," he said mournfully.

"_Thistles and thorns!_" Honey swore, raising her stinger out of the vat. "Where's Bryn?"

"Down in the Lihzahrd catacombs with Plantera," he said. "We need her, and _fast._"

Honey landed and lowered her fuzzy abdomen for Lord Gourd to mount. "Climb on and watch the stinger." When he was settled on Honey's back, she leaped into the air and buzzed off towards the Lihzahrd temple. She arrived at the ancient building just as Bryn stepped out, resplendent in her palladium armor. Behind her, legions of Lihzahrd warriors lurked in the darkness of the main hall.

"You're just in time," Honey huffed, landing in front of the temple. Lord Gourd leaped off her back and ran to Plantera, who enfolded him in a tight embrace.

"For what?" said Bryn.

"The end of the world," Honey said darkly.

Plantera snapped into action. "O.K. Honey, gather all the attack bees you can muster and bring all the honey you can spare to the surface. Lord Gourd, prepare the Great Pumpkin and wake the Mourning Trees. Sum, you go fire up the Jungle Rose. Bryn, gather Amber and James and take the Lihzahrd to the surface. I'll meet you there - let's get a move on!"

Bryn grabbed the Pulse Bow slung over her shoulder and tensed the string with her right hand. "Let's do this."


	17. Chapter 17: Forests of Mourning

Chapter 17: Forests of Mourning

Honey, surrounded by a cloud of bees, found Amber and James hunkered over a small campfire on the surface. Amber waved her over. "We're trying to spy on Bianca using scry-smoke," she whispered. "How do I make scry-smoke?"

"Try this," Honey whispered, handing Amber a sack of powder. The healer regarded the sack doubtfully, then removed a pinch and tossed it on the glowing embers. Sure enough, golden smoke began emitting from the coals and twisted into the air.

Amber funneled some mana into the cloud of smoke, formulating a blurry image in it. "Focus," she hissed, and the image solidified into a lucid picture of Bianca, hovering above a huge forest. They watched in horror as the evergreen trees around Bianca snapped open red eyes and began lumbering about.

"Ever-screams," Honey gasped.

James leaped to his feet. "We need to find Lord Gourd," he said, barely managing to keep his voice down. Honey squatted, beckoning them to hop on.

"Mind the stinger," she whispered as Amber and James clambered onto her fuzzy abdomen. Then she buzzed back underground in search of Lord Gourd.

They found him behind the Jungle Rose, slowly inflating what appeared to be a large pumpkin balloon. Two long, gnarled vines hung from its sides, each attached to a gleaming half-moon scythe. The front of the balloon was carved into a hideous grinning face.

"This would be the Great Pumpkin?" said Honey.

"Yep," said Lord Gourd, straining at the air pump.

"Bianca is waking a forest of ever-screams," said Honey.

Lord Gourd whirled around, making his cape fly. "_WHAT?"_

"You heard me," Honey said, snarky.

"This is really bad," Lord Gourd cursed.

"Then we need to go wake the Mourning Trees," Honey replied.

Lord Gourd dropped the air pump to the ground and rushed back into Fort Spring, followed closely by Honey, Amber and James. "Just follow me," he puffed as they ran. "I just need my war horn, and then we'll awaken the Forests of Mourning."

There was a large chest at the back of the main hall, and it was evident that it hadn't been opened in a very long time. Lord Gourd swept off the dust and cobwebs with his hand, threw open the bolt, and lifted a massive ceramic war horn out of the chest. As he slung the leather strap over his shoulder, Honey said, "Are you sure that the Awakening is a sight for mortal eyes?"

"Trust me, Honey," said Lord Gourd, already on the run. "These kids are tough. If they've seen Bianca wake ever-screams, they can see me wake the Forests of Mourning." Hearing this, James proudly puffed out his chest and Amber blushed.

"O.K. Hold on tight, kids, here we go!" Honey said cheerfully as she rose off the ground, following Lord Gourd to a large grove filled with twisted black trees.

Lord Gourd took a deep breath and blew into his war horn, sounding a mighty blast throughout the grove.

The trees flicked open their orange eyes and came alive.


	18. Chapter 18: Fall of the Frost Queen

Chapter 18: Fall of the Frost Queen

Bianca had her back turned to Bryn when she came charging out of the ground, leading thousands of Lihzahrd warriors.

Without turning around, she said, "The Lihzahrd must be truly desperate to have a human leading them."

Bryn smirked. "Turn around, Bianca," she shouted at the corrupt ice queen. "Look at the army I have at my disposal. See Plantera's fighting golem and her flower mech suit. Behold Honey's attack bees and Lord Gourd's scythe-armed pumpkin balloon. Bianca, we know you're still in there. And this ends now."

Bianca whirled around in the air and let out a chilling laugh. "Scythes are like butter knives to me," she said icily. "Bees are just insects, a fighting golem is a chunk of dried mud, and your 'army' is nothing but a contingent of overgrown garden lizards. Now this... this is an army," she added, sticking two fingers in her mouth and letting out a single clear, high-pitched whistle. The ever-screams around her flicked their eyes open and began advancing towards the Lihzahrd army, menacing, unstoppable.

"All right," Bryn snarled, drawing her bow. "Either we defeat you before the sun rises, or we die."

"So be it," said Bianca haughtily. "Troops! _Chaaaaaarge!"_

The evergreen trees shifted their rootlike feet, rustled their needles, and made a collective rush towards Bryn and the Lihzahrd army.

Bryn raised her bow above her head. "LET'S GET 'EM, BOYS!" She began firing her energy blasts, each successive pulse sending massive shockwaves through the forest. Ever-screams fell to the ground, stunned. A pulse hit Bianca square in the face, and she blinked a few times, her hair flickering silver for the shortest moment. Lihzahrd archers nocked their poisoned arrows and sent their barrages screaming into the air.

Of course, evergreen trees are large and tough, so they came roaring back to life in a matter of seconds. Bryn began to panic, firing more erratically, beginning to retreat backwards.

That is, until she heard massive, booming footsteps sounding behind her, getting closer and closer. A huge brown hand parted the bushes, and Ergo Sum leaped into the clearing, followed closely by the Jungle Rose. A second later, a gigantic orange balloon rose over the forest, its face carved into a hideous grin and lit from inside by a candle. Lord Gourd's menacing countenance peered from the nose of the jack-o-lantern, and as Bryn watched, he raised a ceramic war horn and sounded a mighty blast over the forest.

Streams of black trees with orange eyes ran into the clearing and pounced on the ever-screams, shrieking madly with their lust for the saplike blood of their enemies.

Lord Gourd's balloon, surrounded by swarms of attack bees, floated slowly over to Bianca, raising its razor-sharp scythe hands. Bianca cursed under her breath and began forming an icicle in her hands, one that swiftly became a longsword of pure ice. She and Lord Gourd began to engage in an aerial battle whilst the trees fought below, the Mourning Trees and ever-screams trying to tear each others' limbs off while Bryn led the Lihzahrd horde.

One of Lord Gourd's scythes snapped off the top of Bianca's sword in a single swipe, and she threw it at the balloon, furious. Her aim was perfect, and the ice hilt crashed through the eye of the balloon and embedded itself in the orange leather. Lord Gourd dived out of the mouth of the balloon just in time.

Meanwhile, Bianca decided to focus her attention on Ergo Sum. She watched as he sent waves of ever-screams flying with a single blow from his mighty arms, and before he could realize what was happening, she threw a ball of frost at his shoulder. It struck the golem right at the joint of his shoulder and spread over his arm, freezing it solid. Finally, when he tried to move his arm, it shattered into hundreds of small pieces of frozen pottery. Dazed, Ergo Sum fell back with a rumbling moan.

Plantera was holding her own in the Jungle Rose until Bianca began forming one last icicle in her palms. With a wicked grin, the ice queen drew back her arm to throw it at Bryn. She would have hit her, too, had not Honey plummeted out of the heavens, mad as a hornet, fists first. The Queen Bee punched Bianca in the face, screwing up her aim, and the ice spike rocketed, instead, to Plantera.

It flew through the Jungle Rose's one weak spot - its cannon - and embedded itself deep into her rib cage. The Jungle Rose withered and fell open, and Lord Gourd ran to where she stood, breathing heavily, leaking dark green blood.

"_PLANTERA!_ Oh God, are you hurt?"

"It's just a scratch," Plantera growled, wincing as she pulled herself to her feet. "Status?"

"Balloon's down, Sum's lost an arm," Lord Gourd rattled off nervously.

"Change... of... plans," Plantera wheezed, rising on her tiptoes to give Lord Gourd one last peck on the cheek. "See... you... around." Then, her feet splashing in a puddle of green blood, she took off into the lines of battle.

Plantera skidded to a halt next to Bryn and snatched her bow. Before Bryn could protest, Plantera wrenched the icicle, now stained a sickly dark green, from where it was buried in her bosom and drew it against the bow. Bianca threw her head back to laugh with triumph as Plantera released the charged icicle. It struck Bianca in the jaw, jolting her head backwards and sending a dark purple mass flying from her mouth. The silver color raced back to her hair, she blinked her eyes a few times, and fell to the ground, twitching.

Simultaneously, every ever-scream on the battlefield suddenly withered and turned brown, disintegrating to dust and blowing away.

Lord Gourd, Bryn, James, Amber, Ergo Sum and Honey rushed to where Bianca lay, her old self again, next to a quivering purple mass, which Ergo Sum squashed under his huge foot.

Then they saw Plantera, lying in a pool of her own blood, still clasping the Pulse Bow. Lord Gourd fell to his knees.

"No," he whispered.


	19. Chapter 19: Blood and Chlorophyll

Chapter 19: Blood and Chlorophyll

Bryn had dismissed the Lihzahrd. With a collective salute, her faithful army had traipsed back down to the catacombs under their temple, rearranged themselves back into perfect formation, and turned to stone. She had removed her shining palladium armor and looked like her old self again as she walked beside her friends.

Lord Gourd looked like his spirit was broken as he carried in his arms the flower goddess whom he had loved and lost. Plantera, her eyes peacefully closed, swayed gently in his grasp. Ergo Sum plodded mournfully beside him, his soulful yellow eyes heavy with sorrow.

Honey trotted along beside them, antennae drooping. Bianca was draped across her back, unconscious. Amber and James watched as Bianca twitched, once, twice, three times, and lifted her head groggily. "Argh. Where am I?"

"Oh, good, you're awake," said Honey, trying to be cheerful.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Bianca asked, suspicious. "You're not yourself. It's like someone died." When Honey turned around and regarded her with the saddest violet eyes Bianca had ever seen, Bianca drew in a shuddering breath. "No. Oh, please, no. Who?" She lifted her head above the black-and-gold fuzz of Honey's abdomen and gasped, horrified, when she saw Plantera lying in Lord Gourd's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Bianca," Honey whispered.

Bianca let out a wail of anguish. "I did this," she moaned. "I broke the Great Pumpkin and made Sum lose an arm and... and... and killed one of my dearest friends in the world." She burst into tears. "What have I done?" she sobbed. "WHAT HAVE I _DONE?"_

Bryn walked over and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "You've done nothing that you can't fix," she said reassuringly. Bianca sniffed and wiped her nose on a leaf.

Honey signaled to the group. "Let's take a breather, guys. Bianca's awake." Bianca stood up from Honey's back, and Honey said, "Sit down against this tree. Let's treat that bruise."

Lord Gourd went to sit down by himself with Plantera's body. Amber approached him quietly. "Um, King Gourd -"

"It's _Lord _Gourd," he said weakly.

"Uh, anyway, Lord Gourd, I saw what happened and I think that Honey and I can bring Plantera back to life."

Lord Gourd stared at her in wonderment. "How?"

"Her blood is green, right? I was thinking that if we put some sugar in her system and bring her into the sunlight, she'll photosynthesize and come back to life."

"That is the worst biology logic that I've ever heard," he said flatly, "but it's worth a try. Hey, Honey, could you come over here with Amber for a second?"

A few minutes later, the group traveled into a sunny clearing. Honey laid Plantera down on her back in the sunshine. Then Amber unscrewed the top of a honey jar and spooned some of the sweet golden liquid into the spring goddess's mouth.

For a minute, nothing happened. Then, to the great surprise of everyone in the group, Plantera's heart began to glow green. They watched as phosphorescent green light spread from her heart through her aorta, through her arteries and veins, branching throughout her body as the light from her heart got steadily brighter, the heart mending itself, muscles working...

The first heartbeat was very faint, but everyone heard it.

"She's barely alive," Honey pronounced quietly, as if raising her voice would stop Plantera's heart.

"Hold on," said Amber, digging into the pocket of her orange robe and removing a fistful of dried red herbs. She carefully pried open Plantera's mouth, set some fireblossoms on her tongue, and closed her jaws.

The group heard her heartbeat getting gradually stronger and faster. A muscle in her jaw moved, almost imperceptibly. Then another, and another. Soon, Plantera was chewing on the herbs. Lord Gourd clenched and unclenched a corner of his cape in anxiety. Bianca removed a glove and chewed on her nails. Honey's antennae spiraled wildly.

Finally, Plantera sat up with enormous force, spat out the fireblossoms, and burst into tears. Lord Gourd let out a whoop, scooped her up into his arms, and gave Plantera a kiss. "Don't you die on me again," he whispered in her ear.

"We're right here," Honey said pointedly. "Can you guys get a room?"

"Shhhh. You're spoiling the moment," Bianca said excitedly, hopping up and down.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

"What's the deal with these dresses?" Bryn grumbled from behind the curtain. Three months had passed since Bianca had taken an icicle to the jaw, dislodging the corruption within and thawing the frozen world. Lord Gourd, overcome with joy after the resurrection of his beloved, had proposed marriage to Plantera a week later, and Bryn and Amber were to be bridesmaids.

"Quit being such a baby," Amber cajoled, fiddling with her earrings. "You're just not used to wearing skirts."

"At least Honey doesn't have to wear skirts because she's a bug from the waist down," Bryn muttered, emerging from the curtain in her long blue dress. Amber wore a similar dress, which clashed horribly with her bright orange hair.

"I believe the term is _vertebrate arthropod_," Honey snapped at Bryn, pinning her short blond locks up into a bun and flattening her wings neatly against her shoulders. Honey was ordaining the service, which was to be held outside, on the shores of the once-frozen ocean..

"Whatever," Bryn huffed. "Oh, it's so strange to wear this. Why couldn't I have worn the Lihzahrd armor?"

"Because it would be rude," Honey replied.

"You look lovely, Bryn," said Amber.

They moved to their positions outside. Honey took up her spot at the front of the altar, while Bryn and Amber stood on either side of the aisle. Lord Gourd stood near Honey, his black armor polished and cleaned till it shone. Ergo Sum, his best man, loomed behind him. Months of frequent mud baths had regrown his arm, and he looked even bigger stuffed into an enormous black tuxedo. James carried the two rings, and Bianca was in the dining hall setting up the reception.

Honey clapped her hands and called everyone to attention to begin the service.

And then Plantera appeared.

She danced down a carpet of leaves, as beautiful and lively as ever, wearing a dress sewn of perfect white rose petals and holding a bouquet of pure white carnations. When she reached her place at the altar, nobody could help but clap.

James presented the two simple rings, both silver and unadorned, and the two deities slid them onto their fingers. Lord Gourd read his vows off a leaf that he held out to Plantera, and she stuck it in her pink hair. Then Plantera read her vows off a flower petal and placed it behind his ear. Everybody said, "Awwww."

Finally, Honey concluded the service. "Plantera, do you take Lord Gourd to be your husband?"

"I do," she murmured, looking into his eyes.

"And Lord Gourd, do you take Plantera to be your wife?"

"I do," he said softly, little more than a whisper, as if he wanted only Plantera to hear.

"Then let the two be wed. You may kiss your - hey, guys, do you smell... _fish?_" Honey asked suspiciously, nose twitching.

"Yeah, I smell it," Lord Gourd said, covering his nose.

"Did Bianca forget to put the salmon back in the icebox again?" Plantera asked.

"Back in the... I practically _am _an icebox!" Bianca raged, wearing an apron that read _KISS THE COOK._

Suddenly the seas began raging, monstrous waves piling up until its creator appeared, a massive, blue-green dragon-pig-fish-thing with long yellow fangs.

"_I AM NEREUS, THE DUKE FISHRON OF THE WESTERN OCEAN," _it roared. "_FEAR ME!"_

Plantera glanced at Lord Gourd. "Do you want to take care of this one?"

He shrugged. "Nah. I think Bianca got it, though," he said, gesturing to the ocean. Nereus, now frozen in a block of ice, bobbed gently on the surface.

"No need to thank me, boys," Bianca laughed, rubbing her hands together.

"YOU WERE SAYING?" Ergo Sum rumbled, poking Honey.

"Yes? Oh, right. Well, now that we've dealt with that untoward interruption, you may kiss your bride!" Lord Gourd swept Plantera off her feet and kissed her, and everyone cheered.

Later, at the reception, James found Amber in a corner. "Um, listen, Amber... I really like you, so I was wondering..."

Amber stopped him. "James," she said gently, "I'm lesbian."

James's face lit up. "Oh. Okay, then. Friends?" he said, offering his hand.

"Friends," she agreed, seizing it and giving it a strong pump.

After a few hours of food and dancing, a pumpkin carriage drawn by a pair of hellhounds pulled up in front of the reception. Plantera and Lord Gourd, walking hand in hand, approached the carriage and stepped in. There was a collective cheer as the carriage sped away, revealing the large JUST MARRIED sign on the back.

"Wait a minute!" said Bryn. "She forgot to throw her flowers."

"Wait for it," Honey said eagerly. A second later, the white carnations sailed out the window of the carriage and landed in the gloved hands of Bianca, who looked bewildered. Everyone laughed as Bianca stared at the flowers.

"So what do we do now?" Bryn asked Amber and James after the reception was over. They were going back to the Archers' Guild.

"No idea," said James. There was a rustle in the bushes. "Who was that?"

Celia, the recruit who had first encountered the corrupted snow, raced out of the bushes, bearing an envelope and wearing a pair of electric yellow lightning boots on her feet.

"A message from Headmistress Monavelle," she said to Bryn. "Welcome back, guys. We missed you at the Guild."

After she had gone, Bryn took out her penknife and slitted open the letter. A gasp caught in her throat as she read:

_Dearest Bryn,_

_Well, I must say I'm quite surprised. Neither Calythe, nor Ramisse, nor myself have seen half of what you three saw on your adventure. You met all four of the Seasons, you awakened a golem and a Lihzahrd army, you witnessed the waking of entire forests of trees, and you saw a dead goddess come back to life. You, James, and Amber are three extraordinary young people, and it is with great pride that I bestow you, Bryn, the title as Headmistress of the Archers' Guild._

_Love always,  
Monavelle Skyvale_


End file.
